Similar Audiences & Remarketing in Focus at AdWords

Pete Prestipino

Using remarketing lists for search ads is useful for those brands looking to connect with consumers who have previously visited a site (particularly because it keeps costs lower for attracting them back in the process).

Finding new and loyal customers, however, has proven to be a far more challenging (and expensive) undertaking - but that's beginning to change.

In order to alleviate these issues, Google announced that it is currently rolling out a "similar audiences" feature for its Search and Shopping offerings along with Customer Match for Shopping which makes it possible for sellers use their own data to reach the right customer with the right message.

Let's take a closer look at the two new offerings.

Similar audiences enable sellers to find prospects who share similar interests with their best customers, and when they are searching for products or services. That makes it far easier to expand reach as sellers can connect with more people who want what is being offered. The ability to find similar customers is going to be attractive to sellers.

For example, you may discover generic terms work better with a similar audience applied to them. Google also suggests that advertisers use similar audiences as a bid modifier as it will make them more competitive in crowded auctions as bids can be tailored to reach people who are more/most likely to buy.

Google provided a strong example of how similar audiences might work:

Imagine you’re marketing a hotel in Hawaii using RLSA, and you want to connect with summer travelers. The people in your “Recent Converters” list might be searching for things like ‘flights to Maui,’ ‘scuba classes,’ and ‘flip-flop sandals.’ Powered by Google’s machine learning, similar audiences uses these search trends to help you find people who are looking for the same things as your existing customers, even if they’re not on your remarketing lists.

Google also introduced Customer Match for Shopping campaigns. The offering will enable sellers to use their email lists to identify their highest-value customers - previous buyers, current subscribers, rewards members, in-store shoppers, etc - and deliver messaging as they shop on Google. A retailer, for example, could show a highly targeted Shopping Ad to a list of their own rewards members.